INTRODUCITON
The spiritual formation of the believer is essential to their walk with Christ. There are many passages in Scripture that correlate with the principles of the spiritual formation of the believer. Romans 12:1-2 and Ephesians 4:17-20 will be examined. The purpose is to observe both of these passages on the illuminating factor of the spiritual development for the believer.
COMMENTARY OF ROMANS 12:1-2
These two verses of Scripture will be examined in the English Standard Version. The passage is as follows:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (ESV).
This passage brings the concept of total transformation in the life of the believer. The word therefore shows that the teaching proceeds verses 1:18-11:36 and is the conclusion of these verses. The Greek verb parakaleō is translated into “I appeal” or “I exhort.” This is a strong verb that refers to a commanding declaration that demands stern obedience. It is quite ordinary for Paul to use it in instruction contexts. The phrase “by the mercies of God” refers to the mercy of God in 11:30-36. It is accurate that the Greek word “oiktirmo,,” which is translated into “mercy,” only occurs in Romans in chapters 9-11, but most scholars believe that “mercy” is a underlining theme of the epistle (Osborne 2004, 319). John Stott said it well when he stated, “…the gospel is precisely God’s mercy to inexcusable and undeserving sinners, in giving His Son to die for them, in justifying them freely by faith, in sending them the life-giving Spirit, and in making them his children (Stott 1994, 320).” The entirety of dedication of the believer to God is based on the entirety of His mercy towards the believer (Osborne 2004, 319).
The ultimate reaction of the believer to this mercy is unconditional capitulation. This imagery is expressed in the phrase “…present your bodies as a living sacrifice….” This metaphor is a prevailing one. It gives the idea of one bringing themselves before the alter of God to be sacrificed. There are other examples in Scripture of sacrificial language being used metaphorically. One example can be found in Psalm 141:2 which states, “the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” Others can be found in Psalm 50:12, Hebrews 13:15, and 1 Peter 2:5. Robert Daly states that sacrificial language in the New Testament is constantly ethical in nature. In other words, it is meant to be lived out virtually in the daily life of the believer (Daly 1997, 234-235). The overall substance is “your bodies,” which could represent the material body as devoted to God.
There are three facets of our sacrifice to God that is presented. The first is “living” which denotes not only the vibrant character of the sacrifice, but also the spiritual condition of the believer. The second is “holy,” which means that the Christian is entirely committed or set apart from the world. The third is the phrase “…acceptable to God...,” which constructs off of an Old Testament notion of the sacrifice satisfying God. These three facets are crucial to the life of the believer. The Christian must strive at all times to experience the innovative life of the Holy Spirit in order that he or she will be set apart to God to bring him satisfaction.
This sacrifice is the believer’s total being to God is a “…spiritual worship.” In other words, a life of worship is essential to the life of the Christian and must be exhibited in every aspect of their life. Every instant in the life of the believer is an act of serving and rejoicing that God is in their life. This is shown through cooperate worship with other believers and personal worship in solitude with God (Osborne 2004, 320).
Paul transitions for the “what” to the “how” of the Christian life. In verse two he conjures the negative process for presenting oneself to God and then he presents the positive manner. The negative process is given by the phrase “do not be conformed to this world.” The word “conform” conveys a superficial action and the word “transform” is a prevailing action. The believer is not to be ruled by the powers of this world. 1 John 2:15 also expresses this concept; “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (ESV).” The Christian is to be separate from this world because this is not our true home. The believer is only present on this earth temporarily to glorify God by the spreading of His gospel (Osborne 2004, 321). In correlation to the negative elucidation is the positive resolution, which is interconnected with the phrase “be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” The Greek word “metamorphoō,” which is translated into “transformed,” means to change or change appearance (Swenson 1997). This phrase expresses an intrinsic flaccid logic in which the transforming power of the Holy Spirit penetrates the foundation of one’s being and remolds he or she into a “new creation.” This concept is also revealed in 2 Corinthians 5:17, which states: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” The Holy Spirit changes the lives of believers and enables them to present themselves totally to God. This transpires in the “mind,” which is “renewed” by God. The mind is the center of the battle between the aspiration to serve God and sin. It is apparent that the “mind” is where spiritual growth transpires and the decisions that conclude one’s spiritual direction (Osborne 2004, 322).
COMMENTARY ON EPHESSIANS 4:17-20
The theme of this passage can be seen as the necessity for fundamental change. The English Standard version will be the translation the will be used in the analysis of this verse. It is as follows:
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!
The vibrancy of Paul’s expressive terminology serves both to elucidate his thoughts and to extract a response from the reader. There is a poignant content to words that are used such as “futility,” “darkened,” “alienated,” “ignorance,” “hardness,” “sensuality,” and “greedy.” When the words are include “thinking” and “understanding” the picture is transparent (Osborne 2004, 111).
The phrase “Now this I say and testify in the Lord…” refers to the exhortation of the believer to walk worthy of their higher calling, which is to garnish the doctrine of our savior Jesus Christ. With this understanding, Paul reminds his audience of what they were before they received the Holy Spirit. In addition, the phrase “that you must no longer walk” can be seen as a turning away of the old and coming into the new life as a believer. The Greek word “peripateō,” which is translated into “walk,” can also be seen as one’s conduct, behavior, or the leading of one’s life (Swenson 1997). The believer is to live a life that is set apart from the “Gentiles.” The Gentiles live “in the futility of their minds.” They are also “darkened in their understanding.” Both in ancient times and today’s society, people who reject God believe that they are progressive. Their “ignorance” is not a lack of instruction. There are many brilliant men and women, but brilliance is a squander and vain in conclusion with the combination with the “hardness of heart” towards the gospel of Jesus Christ (Crossway 2008, 2269).
CONCLUSTION
Spiritual formation is an aspect of the Christian faith. It is a gradual process that will never conclude until we see Christ. It is the duty of the believer to develop their spiritual lives in order to be a more effective believer. These two passages help to reveal the essentiality of the spiritual formation of the believer. The ultimate conclusion of these two passages is that we must remove the “old self” and put on the “new self.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barnes, Albert, and Robert Frew. Notes on the New Testament: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians [to Philemon]. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Books, 2001.
Crossway Bibles. ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles, 2008.
Daly, R. J. “Is Christianity Sacrificial or Antisacrificial?” Religion 27:231–43. 1997.
Liefeld, Walter L. Ephesians. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1997.
Osborne, Grant R. Romans. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2004.
Stott, John R. W. Romans: God’s Good News for the World. The Bible Speaks Today. Illinois: Inter Varsity Press. 1994.
Swanson, J. Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Greek (New Testament) (electronic ed.). (1997). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
